We are offering this special t-shirt design for a limited time as part of our building project fundraising campaign. This design represents some of the rich history of Rooted Action Park.
This design was created by our friend Steev, a legend in the BMX world. He has been creating BMX themed art for decades, some of you may remember the iconic BMX clothing brand "Poorboy". Steev was the man behind that brand. It was through Poorboy clothing that I first met Steev. It was in 1994 when I opened my bike shop and started traveling around to local BMX tracks and skateparks, the majority of the t-shirts and other soft goods that I was stocking were Poorboy products. During those early years, before Chaos on Wheels I sold piles of Steev's t-shirts, caps, shin pads, and other items, but we never met in person. Not until November of 2003.
By 2003 the bike shop was a thing of the past and I was fully invested developing Chaos on Wheels. But, I was still using my "Poorboy" shin pads. We had just finished up a show in Cassville, MO and we were on our way back to Northern Iowa. While in Cassville some of the local BMX riders had told us about a skatepark in Joplin called the Bridge, so we decided to swing by and check it out on our way. We stopped at alot of skateparks when out on tour and I had no idea at the time that this little spot called the Bridge would soon be a pivotal peice of my life story. When we pulled up the the Bridge we were greeted by Steev, after years of selling his products in my shop we finally met. Steev no longer was doing the "Poorboy" thing, he was now working for the Bridge (He had some other BMX projects going too). We spent a few hours riding the ramps at the Bridge and while we were there Steev told me about plans they had to expand into a 60,000+ sq ft facility with ramps, basketball courts, a climbing gym, video games, a music venue and a other attractions. I remember as Steev handed me the promotional brochure and painted this amazing picture, I thought to myself, "Good Luck, I'll believe it when I see it." I was still cyncial about these kinds of facilities because what he was describing was very similar to what I had set out to build back in 1995, but failed to see through to completion. (You can read more about that here.) We visited the Bridge skatepark a few more times as we passed through Joplin while on tour in 2004 and 2005. But, in November of 2005 the Bridge and Chaos on Wheels were about to collide in what some may call fate, but I would say was God's plan.
It was mid-November of 2005 and we were on our way to California to do a few shows, but first we had been invited to make a stop in Joplin. (I'll tell the story about how that invitaton came about in another blog post. It's pretty crazy!) It was on this evening as we met up with a few of the Bridge staff that my cynical thoughts from back in 2003 came back to mind. As we enjoyed a meal at Olive Garden the folks from the Bridge told me about the progress they had made on their new facility. After finishing the meal we made a short drive up the road to the building site, where the facility that Steev had described to me in 2003 was now standing in real life! The ramp park, that was now named Autumn was almost finished and it was amazing! This initial meeting was the beginning of the process that ended with me moving my family and Chaos on Wheels to Joplin, MO so that I could take on the responsibility of running Autumn Ramp Park and the JoMoPro Contest. Steev was a huge part of the development of Autumn Ramp Park, although he went on to persue other things, his legacy lived on in the the lives of the many people he impacted. Not only had Steev invested in countless lives his talents were also evident in Autumn logo and many of the other graphics that he designed for the three different areas of the new facility, "the Bridge", "Autumn" and "the Foundry".

That brings us back to 2023. When I began working on developing the Rooted brand the first name that came to mind was Steev. He had been such a huge part of both the origins of Chaos on Wheels and Autumn Ramp Park that it only made sense to involve him with Rooted Action Park. We talked a few times over the phone and text back and forth and he came up with not only the Rooted Action Park logo, but also this great limited edition t-shirt design.
So there's the story, or at least how I remember it. I hope this gives you some background to how this t-shirt design represents what Rooted Action Park is all about. Not only a facility "rooted" in the deep history of Chaos on Wheels and Autumn Ramp Park. But, also a new thing that will create space for new stories to be written and new friendships to be developed. By ordering one of these shirts you not only get to connect with BMX history, but you also invest in the future of the young people and famlies that will be impacted by Rooted.
Thank you for your continued support!
Jeremiah Anderson
Commenti